BERKELEY  One moment, James Looney is attacking blocking dummies as if they were a threat to his home and family.

The next, hes smiling and at ease at Cals Pro Day Tuesday, explaining in lighthearted terms where the aggression comes from.

Turns out it has something to do with an ultra-sugary breakfast cereal.

I mean, Ive always been a violent man, Looney said. Growing up, my dad, hed say, `Looney (means) cuckoo, crazy. When I come out here on the football field I get to relieve that, go through it. He always told me, `Go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. Ive been living by that motto and just having fun, enjoying the stage.

Looney, as you can see, has embraced the meaning of his last name as it pertains to a personality trait  right down to body tattoos of Looney Tunes cartoon characters Bugs Bunny, the Tasmanian Devil, Tweety Bird and Elmer Fudd.

But his attempt at succeeding on the next level is no joke for a 6-foot-3, 289-pound defensive tackle who represents Cals best chance to have someone selected in the NFL draft April 26-28.

Looney, after a strong showing at the scouting combine, concentrated on position drills during a steady drill at Memorial Stadium and looks forward to joining his brother Joe Looney in the NFL. Joe Looney, a five-year veteran guard, was originally a 49ers fourth-round draft pick in 2012 and now plays for the Dallas Cowboys.

James plans on watching the draft with his family at the Dallas-area home of his brother, and the wait will be considerable, although it appears his display of agility and skill at the combine has improved his prospects.

Among 40 defensive linemen invited, Looney was the only one to rank in the top 10 in each of the six measurable tests in which he competed. Looney was second in the 20-yard shuttle (4.37 seconds), third in the vertical jump 35.5 inches), seventh in the three-cone drill (7.32 seconds), tied for eighth in the broad jump (9-feet, 5 inches), 10th in the 40-yard dash (4.89 seconds _ and tied for 10th in the bench press (28 reps at 225 pounds).

The Web site NFLDraft Scout.com, which had Looney pegged as a seventh round pick or undrafted free agent coming in to the combine, now projects him as a sixth-round pick.

Not that Looney will admit to paying attention to the outside noise.

I aint heard much about it, Looney said. The drafts the draft. I get picked where I get picked. Im not really worried about that. As long as I get my opportunity I know Ill be able to prove myself. I know Ill put up good numbers; Im proud of that. They speak for themselves and hopefully that will help me out.

A transfer from Wake Forest, Looney started 35 of 37 games for the Bears from 2015 to 2017 on teams that were poor defensively until an uptick in his senior year. But there were flashes of skill, with 20.5 tackles for loss in his career eight sacks, two forced fumbles and four recoveries.

The past three years, Looney has been a spectator at Memorial Stadium, watching players such as Jared Goff and others go through the paces on Pro Day. Its been a recent tradition that it rains on Cals Pro Day, although Tuesday was mostly a steady drizzle for the on-field portion.

You dream about the combine, you dream about Pro Day, watching guys like Jared Goff, Daniel Lasco and Chris Harper, Looney said. I was out there in pouring rain watching those guys. I mean, I had to. You work out with those guys, you see them go through the dream, and you just want to feel the energy around them.

Looney has been mostly evaluated as a defensive tackle, an ideally-sized three-technique whose job is to line up on the outside shoulder of a guard in a 4-3 defense and penetrate, hopefully against a single blocker. He is usually smaller, quicker and more athletic than the nose tackle.

But hes open to anything an NFL team has in store.

I feel like I can play most any position at the next level, Looney said. If they wanted me to lose a little weight I could play outside linebacker. I feel thats my key is athleticism. I can play five-technique, three-technique, shade, a 3-4, whatever. I feel real confident in my abilities and I think the combine showed Im an athletic guy.

 Inside linebacker Devante Downs, who was playing extremely well before a lower body injury cut his season short at seven games, remains in a rehab mode. He did participate in the bench press and had 28 reps.

 The Raiders were heavily represented at an event which may yield a single draft pick with five members of their personnel department in attendance.